Saturday, November 30, 2013

Well, I failed in the final stretch of the month. I wasn't able to blog yesterday, but I've always thought blogging should be secondary to actual life activities, so I don't feel too bad. There was a lot of life happening!

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Let's start with Thursday.

Thanksgiving for my family means driving up to New Hampshire for a Parker reunion. Family members fly out from all over the states and it usually reaches upwards of fifty people. And this time we brought Jaime, and I did my best to warn her. She was greeted with lots of welcomes, as Parkers always do.

There were a lot of families with all their kids looking so much older than the year before and as always, lots of dogs. We had our grand feast which takes up four long tables in the house. Jesse and myself (like we do every year) strategically placed ourselves in the alcove that also had a television that would play the football game.

After the meal, the bravest of the attendees changed into their athletic gear for the traditional annual football game. Jaime and myself simply drove up to the field in the car and watched from the front seats - heated front seats. We did not envy those playing out there in 20 degree weather.

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That evening we returned to my parents home to let the tryptophan sink in and watch a movie, like we do. However, the quiet evening and great day ended on a sad note when we learned of the passing of the wonderful Miss Louise. She is at peace now, and she fought to the last, but she will be tremendously missed. Missed especially during these holidays, when we would see her most.

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The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday to most, but Rhode Island Thanksgiving to us! Yup, we do it all over again the next day. But with a much more intimate crowd that just includes my Uncle Arthur and Tia Kim and their son James. My aunt always makes a grand meal, and this year the meal even went on under the news of the previous night; Miss Louise was Uncle Arthur's mother. But he and the rest of the family did not want to break tradition, because Miss Louise would have wanted it to go on.

The second part of Rhode Island Thanksgiving after the meal includes the rest of my Uncle's family gathering at the house for libations and good conversation. Given the news, the gathering was a bit more subdued without the presence of Miss Louise, but it was still a lovely evening in which we caught up, and mostly reveled in the good memories of this most outstanding woman.

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You can see now, I think, why I didn't take the time to sit at my iPad for a long stretch of time.

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One of my "cousins" (we feel like cousins though we technically aren't - she's my Uncle Arthur's sister's daughter), just returned from a semester in Ireland and brought back with her a liking for Jameson. So last night Katie was greeted we a giant bottle of it for the festivities. And everybody drank to the memory of Miss Louise, her grandmother.

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It was awesome to see and talk with everyone; the room was alive.

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The ride home was raucous as well, what with my Rdio account streaming the hits, like Harry Belafonte's "Jump in the Line." The whole car was dancing the way back to Massachusetts, some of us with Jameson to help.

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Only two more days left of this vacation! Today is the last day of November, and though I didn't reach my goal, I definitely got back into the swing of blogging. I will continue, but posting a blog a day may not be feasible with all the December activities!